North America

Programs and Activities: Part 1. Boston and Denver

Going Further 1 (15 minutes)

Characterizing a Region

Site Leader: Please help participants keep track of time. Please facilitate
discussion so that participants spend the first seven to eight minutes brainstorming and discussing the questions in the city planning activity below. In the last two to three
minutes, address the lesson-oriented questions. You can start
group discussion as soon as most people have completed their list.

Working alone, take three to five minutes to make a
list of at least ten questions you would use to interview a city planner
in order to learn the major human and physical characteristics of a specific
urban region. For each question, briefly state a rationale for including
it in your list.

In the remaining time, share your questions as a group.
Before closing discussion, take a few moments to address these questions:

How might conducting such an interview be a useful assignment for
students?

Other than city planners, what types of professionals might students
benefit from interviewing about issues related to urban geography?